Comments on: Can your Laptop Battery Really Explode?

By: Tai Fu

Tai Fu — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:10:45 +0000

Leave the laptop plugged in, without battery installed, no more worries about exploding batteries, and its better for your battery too since the hot notebook will cause it to die sooner. I’d only use the battery if going away from a power socket.

By: Jeffrey Powers

Jeffrey Powers — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:18:04 +0000

I never said anything about the two being related. I only made point that the Capacitors did explode. In all reality, Capacitors hold a charge so they can regulate it. I remember many a time I got a shock from a capacitor when I accidentally touched them.

When caps rupture, they mostly ooze (which is by design), but it also can start affecting the computer. I suppose, in theory, that process could get back to putting more load on the battery and possibly contributing to it. But that would be an “off the top” theory.

The bottom line is that there are a few harmful items in the computer that could cause issue. Possibility is there, probability is the key. The probability of a Laptop exploding is pretty low.

As for Surge protectors, that could have been worded better since it’s publish a year and a half ago. You are right – if the laptop catches on fire, the strip could trip. However, the strip is meant more to deal with where you plug the machine into.

I should revisit this article and spruce it up a bit. Thanks for the concerns.

By: juanito

juanito — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:22:26 +0000

I can’t help myself, i have to respond. The “exploding caps” problem isn’t related to the “exploding battery” issue. As you say, faulty manufacturing caused these capacitors to RUPTURE, not EXPLODE. Capacitors are made of pretty gentle, non-reactive materials, and will never ignite on their own. Now, if you manage to short a big cap, you’ll get a very impressive discharge of electricity, but that’s also not what the “exploding battery” issue is about. Interestingly, you talk about laptop batteries rupturing their casing, which would be a problem, but not one of the thousand degree fire kinds of problems.

And statistically, no laptop batteries explode. Seriously. Much less than one in a million.

When people shut their computer screen, their laptops go into hibernate or suspend mode, and use a trickle of energy. You seem to think they’re sitting folded up in full-on mode on the ride home. That’s not how it works.

How is being connected to a surge protector going to protect anything in a catastrophic battery failure? This just doesn’t make any sense. If the POWER SUPPLY fails, maybe it’ll trip the surge protector…?

And, if you’re REALLY concerned about the environment, save up enough to buy a MacBook Air and then buy a netbook with Ubuntu installed, and send the rest of the money to an environmental or social charity of your choice.